The earliest method of sticking ceramic tiles was to use an hydraulic cement. Since then adhesives based on 100% reactive resin systems such as epoxide or unsaturated polyester resins, solvent solutions or acrylic polymers or elastomers, natural rubber latices, synthetic rubber latices, polyvinyl acetate or copolymer emulsions and acrylic copolymer emulsions have all become available.
Besides all the applicational properties required e.g. open time (i.e. time during which the adhesive remains workable), slip, speed of drying and suitable rheology, ceramic tile adhesives should have good resistance to wet conditions. One method of testing this is to carry out shear tests after sticking two tiles together and immersing them in water for 7 days as described in B.S. 5385: Part 1: 1976: Section A5.8.
In general those adhesives based on non-aqueous systems e.g. epoxy resins show up best on this test. However, it is desirable on ground of cost and safety to use aqueous based systems but these usually have very inferior properties.
B.P. 1,407,827 discloses the use of unsaturated organo-silicon compounds as co-monomers in polyvinyl ester copolymer emulsions. However it is well known that many polyvinyl esters especially polyvinyl acetate are prone to hydrolysis.